Which sport is the fan's best friend?

[Neroon]

I was reading an article on SI.com, titled "Bad Times For Fans". It's primarily about how professional sports are pricing themselves out of reach of the common man and so on. It got me to thinking... which pro sports league would you say treats its fans the best? The NBA, NASCAR, NFL, etc.? I don't mean just American, either as soccer has a monumental world following.

But all things considered - ticket prices, television, live event amenities, athletes involved, and so on... would you say any of them has an edge over others in how they treat fans?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I only regularly attend baseball games, but I have never felt mistreated when doing so. I go for the cheaper tickets - not just because they're cheaper, but also since I actually prefer it up in the cheap seats. And most of the time, assuming the game isn't a quick sell-out, I can get affordable tickets.

Fortunately, I have found that the tickets for games at the Yankees and Mets' new ballparks (those are where I go most often) will be pretty much the same price as those for the old ones, at least for any tickets I personally would be likely to buy - luxury seats will probably cost more, but I'd never buy one of course.

Amenities? Take a look at all these new ballparks that are going up (in the mad frenzy of ballpark building that's been going on ever since Oriole Park at Camden Yards). Those are awesome, especially when they're replacing old, obsolete multipurpose pieces of crap that deserve to go away.

And since there are several networks that all carry rights to MLB games, I'd say that's a good thing too.

 

[wew]

Probably the minor league baseball.

 

[Captain Ice]

Major league baseball in February. Tickets are like $3, beer is $5, and a dog doesn't require a second mortgage.

 

[smeos]

Living in Vancouver, I found that the Canucks tickets may well have been made from the True Cross for how accessible they were. Now that I live in a small town, I'm strictly limited to watching sports on TV. For overall enjoyability, I have to go with the NFL. The sport is set up to work well with TV, and the routine breaks mean that I can get a beer, talk with friends, or take a leak without (inevitably) missing something good.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Soccer as a sport doesn't treat its fans well at all imo, it just makes people angry and/or miserable most of the time.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Major league baseball in February. Tickets are like $3, beer is $5, and a dog doesn't require a second mortgage.

February? What kind of MLB games play that early?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I've always said that baseball offers the best price for a single game, while football offers the best price for a season ticket holder (not that the prices are close to reasonable, there are just a lot less games). Basketball and Hockey seem to have an unhappy medium where neither gets satisfied. Things like food tend to be ridiculous either way.

 

[Mallory]

I really love minor league baseball and hockey. Tickets are cheap, good seats are always available and the players are constantly working their asses off to make it to the next level.

 

[Starbreaker]

I can get Braves tickets for $3 with my student ID. Normally, those seats are $6. I still think that food prices are way out there, but I usually end up getting something. Sigh...

 

[Quo Vadimus]

Baseball, definetely. NFL and NCAA tickets are through-the-roof. It cost $55 to attend an Alabama SEC football clash. Fortunately my Dad has season tickets, but still.

And as posted above, there is nothing quite like taking in a ball game from the cheap seats. If you're lucky, you might just catch a foul or home-run ball.